Author: mmafighting
Mackenzie Dern’s gutsy effort against Amanda Lemos likely helped both strawweights take home an additional $50,000. Lemos captured a unanimous decision over Dern, a short-notice replacement for Tatiana Suarez, with three scores of 29-28. The action-packed fight was awarded “Fight of the Night” honors by the UFC after Saturday’s event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Dern battled back after a brutal series of punches nearly put her away in the second round. In the third and final frame, she continued to push the action and threaten submissions as Lemos was forced to defend. Three other fighters captured “Performance of…
UFC 300 is expected to deliver a loaded lineup for the promotion’s historic April event. Following one of the most chaotic years in recent memory, the UFC will bring UFC 300 to its home base of Las Vegas on April 13. UFC CEO Dana White has promised one of the most stacked, and perhaps, unpredictable lineups in company history. With four title fights already on the books for the first quarter of the year, including Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title, and Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Raquel Pennington for the vacant women’s bantamweight title at UFC…
Ilia Topuria lived up the hype after delivering a brutal knockout to dethrone Alexander Volkanovski and become the new featherweight champion in the UFC 298 main event. It was another staggering performance from the undefeated Spaniard as Topuria followed through with his promise to march Volkanovski down and put him away before the final bell. Topuria delivered the finishing blow as he forced Volkanovski back towards the cage before unloading a right hook that absolutely demolished the long reigning featherweight king. Volkanovski crumbled to the canvas and Topuria began his celebration as he climbed to the top of the mountain…
Robert Whittaker still has plenty of fight left in him. After a disappointing loss to current middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in his last outing, Whittaker had something to prove in his return at UFC 298. Whittaker showed that he’s still just as dangerous as ever as he engaged in a three-round war on the feet with Paulo Costa before ultimately earning a unanimous decision victory. Nothing came easy but Whittaker’s output and accuracy just kept tagging Costa round after round. He also did a lot of damage with a blistering series of calf kicks that left golf-ball sized swelling…
Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t want to hear about anything else but a title shot after taking out Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 on Saturday. In another performance built around his relentless pace and pressure, Dvalishvili wore out Cejudo round after round and put on a show as he played to the cameras while remaining in complete control until the final horn sounded. When it was over there was no doubt that Dvalishvili had notched his 10th consecutive win in a row with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in his favor. “I’m proud but I was working so hard,” Dvalishvili…
This is the UFC 298 live blog for Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo, the main card bantamweight fight on Saturday in Anaheim. Arguably the best bantamweight in the world today, Dvalishvili is riding an astonishing nine-fight winning streak, including back-to-back wins over former UFC champions. Nevertheless, Dvalishvili still has not earned a crack at 135-pound gold, but with champion Sean O’Malley set to defend his belt next month, Dvalishvili hopes that a win over Cejudo will finally get him his day in court. One of the most accomplished combat sports athletes in recent history, Cejudo is a former Olympic gold…
Marcos Rogerio de Lima played the part of a lumberjack on Saturday night at UFC 298 as he chopped down late-notice replacement Junior Tafa with a blistering series of calf-kicks. It was an impressive showing from the Brazilian, who was originally scheduled to face Justin Tafa but a fight-week injury left him unable to compete. Tafa’s brother stepped into replace him but that decision backfired after de Lima began hammering away at his lead leg with some serious accuracy and power. With Tafa limping around the cage, de Lima eventually landing one last leg kick that put the New Zealand…
Brendson Ribeiro is dreaming of a perfect debut at UFC 298: Stopping Zhang Mingyang this Saturday night in Anaheim, Calif., and pocketing an extra $50,000 post-fight bonus. The light heavyweight debutant joins the UFC after an impressive finish on the UFC’s Contender Series in September 2023, which saw him knock out betting favorite Bruno Lopes with a powerful right hand in less than four minutes. Competing for a contract in front of UFC CEO Dana White might add stress to some athletes, but Ribeiro said he simply embraced the pressure. “I’ve dreamed with that moment for a long time,” Ribeiro…
Ian Machado Garry did his camp for his UFC 298 fight against Geoff Neal at Chute Boxe in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and coach Diego Lima believes the Irishman is destined to claim the UFC welterweight belt this year. Garry is undefeated in six octagon appearances, 13-0 overall as a MMA fighter, and returns to the cage Saturday after being forced off a match with Vicente Luque due to illness this past December. Lima sees the fact that the Irishman remained one of the biggest topics of the week despite being off the lineup as proof that he’s closer than ever…
Oban Elliott is about to have the greatest weekend of his young life. On Saturday, Elliott makes his UFC debut, taking on Val Woodburn on the prelim card of UFC 298. Only 26 years old and with a 9-2 record amassed primarily in Cage Warriors, “The Welsh Gangster” earned his spot in the promotion with a win on the most recent season of the UFC’s Contender Series, and in so doing, achieved one of his life’s great ambitions. “It’s been this dream since — I saw Brock Lesnar in 2009 when he was in the UFC — since literally I…